, 1887-08-21

is so, but these tents here in this lowly
camp on the Presumpscot nearly all face
the south. You will find that true of
any Glpsy camp in any part of the
world. Possibly there is traceable in it an
unconscious relic of ancient sun worship
ing. Possibly you reason that its lazy
occupants love the sun like any other ami
mails would hold good. But even in a
language only preserved from lip to mem
ory, and whose possessors are too ignO-
rant to comprehend its or their W
origin, there still remain from the imag-
cry of an almost barbaric heart-lore many
expressions of most poetic form and feel
ing. These tell how closely knit into the
very life-fbre Of the Gypsy has been the
aspiration to make his tent home all that
is dearest and best to him.
FIRM AS A ROUNDED HILL
are the tents of my people" breathed
some Gypsy poet a thousand years ago and
the roadside wanderer of to-day will
%prldetully give you the same sentence in
Romany. My loves breasts are as hill
locks OF amber, or as bright tents bur
nished by the sun, sang some Romany
Solomon in the iungles of India, and the
Gypsy lover of to day signs in the same
poetic simile. True to my people as are
our tents against the sand wind" / will
cling to my Rom 1.-THE first, the head, the
husband like the panther skin to the
crooked wood, i. G., as closely as the
panther's hide to the tent bows; Our
tents shall guard from the storm darts as
shields of brass make powerless great
spears" AS the crouching mare is vaulted
by the raging lion, shall our earth colored
tents remain hidden from the pursuer;;"
AS still as the red stars sleep, shall nestle
our tents in the Valleys" AS the heart
holdeth the warm blood and giveth
strength, so my tent holdeth all my life, 4"
are a few of
II INNUMERABLE PoETIC MAGERIEs
attaching to the tent; while the rough
and unctuous fancies crystallizing motive
II character are countless. The skewer
is the sharp hickory peg with which the
woollen coverings are pinned to the tents.
Consequently a virago has IAN evil eye
and a skewer tongue" A wasteful Gipsy
is as a coverless tent. A spiritless one,
as a rotten bow string. A lewd woman is
as a fallen tent, and a good one, "As snug
as a proper tent There are also many
quaint and tender love and Gypsy home
songs, in which the tent stands for all
that shuts harm out and good in; while
there are certain unwritten and inviolable
laws and customs about the tent which
are very interesting to observe and study.
The rule is universal preventing Gipsies
occupying
II TENTS INNER COMPARTMENTS
save at night, or when driven in by storms.
In case of quarrels, involving serious
trouble and possibly the e%ndangering Of
life, no Gypsy who is defending himself
may be pursued within the tent. Gipsies
cling to an old tent until the last moment
it can be spliced and patched together,
out of pure affection for it. AN old
tents an old friend, is one oftheir proud
sayings. Any Gypsy born under a tent
preserves a piece of its bows or wooden
covering until his dying day, and it is
then burned with his effects. To be born
in the tent carries pride as does a good
strain of blood. Those born under a
roof are regarded as unfortunate. These
are often d~erisively termed Romany kair
raiahs or house lords"
AS WITH ALL THINGS ELSE
in use among the Gipsies, the kettle
stick has its place among the legends and
lore of the race. 1t is not only an imper-
atively needed factor in everyday life, but
it is far more. Indeed, this one black
piece OF iron possesses almost the same
cherished value as the ingle nook. 1t is
the typified hearth side of the race. 1t
often becomes the object of the tinker's
highest efforts. job" the tinker over
there by his little portable forge, is now
hammering away upon one upon which
he has been at work for months at odd
hours, and its knobs, %diminutive grifins
and f~1oriture are wondrous indeed. |
once saw one wrought by the Gypsy Faa
tribe Of Eetholm, England, an heirloom
in constant use, which no money could
buy. The female
HEAD OF THE Gypsy HOUSEHOLD
is always its keeper, and the anxiety about
proper protection of this one bit OF old
iron from which the pots and kettles hang
and sizzle above the CHEEKY fires, some
times amounts to positive lunacy. The
reason for this | discovered to be that all
sorts of superstitions cling to its continued
possession. 1t is a kind of amulet to the
Gypsy home as an entirety. Its loss, espe-
cially through any manner of carelessness,
is fully believed to be the precursor of all
sorts of i'll luck. But they have no use
for this priced utensil unless it comes into
their possession through the grotesque
avenue of precedents and all their race
bugaboos.
| once found a little band of newly ar
rived German Gipsies on the banks of
the romantic Wissahickon. in a state of
pitiable poverty. | ielt | was doing them
a great turn in having had made for them
a handsome kettle stick in Philadelphia
at my own expense. They accepted it
with apparent gratitude and delight; but
l afterwards learned that | was not we'll
out of camp ere they had sold my fine gift
for old iron. 1t had come from a Gorqio,
a non Gypsy. However kindly meant, it
could never possess Gypsy character. The
truth is, they would have eaten their food
raw before they would have used it. |
have since asked many Gipsies the reason
for this ingratitude and ~discourtesy, and
all | could get from them was:
I'VE jes likes as waits our own" or,
the briefer and more explicit, Hits our
way EDGAR l.. WAKEMAN.
In Brief, and to the Point.